Days Around the Full Moon
by justagirlwholikestowrite
Summary: A Remus Lupin Full Moon story taking place in fifth year. Some months Remus is okay, other moons he's not. And sometimes it's horrific.
1. The Day Before

Authors Note: This entire story is based around one of my headcannons on tumblr "the reason that the marauders finally become animagi in fifth year is because that's when it could wait no longer. When fifteen year old Remus had his growth spurt Moony went crazy. Although the boys had all been trying hard to get their animagis form, it wasnt until pubescent Moony left remus in the hospital for a week and a half that they tripled their efforts. Two months later, Moony, Wormtail, Padffot, and Promgs had their first full moon together." Also, pretty, pretty please cherry on top leave a comment! I will keep writing anyway, but it will happen much faster if I know that there are people want to read what I have to write. They only way that I know that people have this stpry is if you review or favorite it. Wow, that was long. Enjoy!

The Day Before

Remus awoke with a familiar pounding in his head, although a crazy marauders' party did not induce this one. It was the monthly reminder of what was to come in the next seventy-two hours, and he was not at all excited. Only yesterday he had been at the peak of his energy for the month, when the wolf had just begun to enter into Remus's mind. He would have been willing to take on an aggressive dragon had one presented itself, and now he was barely willing to take on the day.

At first he simply lay in bed, mentally preparing himself for the day ahead, until he heard the telltale cracking of the back that told him that James was awake. James was always cracking his bones in the mornings after quidditch practices. Usually Remus couldn't bother to care, but today it ignored him.

 _"He gets to do it out of leisure, and in two days time my bones will be broken by force,"_ He thought to himself. " _Calm down,"_ but even though he knew that it was only the pre-moon symptoms, he still allowed the thoughts to fester.

"Mornin' Remus." Said James gaily, placing his glasses on his face as his shoulder made a loud cracking noise too. His black hair was a rustled mess, but that was the way he liked it, and even in his grouchy mood Remus knew better than to criticize it.

Remus simply nodded in response, and as he did so his stiff neck cracked in a rather painful way, as would the rest of his bones and joints as the day wore on. Tiredly, he reached over to his bed stand and opened the top drawer, where he pulled out a container of Advil, a muggle medicine that his mother had given him to help with the pain. Even though Madam Pomfrey had stronger potions that worked more effectively against his condition, he enjoyed using the things that his mother gave him, as they provided a small comfort.

Sirius and Peter continued to sleep, as Remus slowly began to get ready for the day. He went to go take a shower, as he needed something to wake him up and he knew that by tonight he would be too exhausted to take one. When he returned twenty minutes later he was glad, but not surprised, to see that his robes and socks had already been placed on his bed, courtesy of James. Lethargically, he began to pull his robes over his head.

He moved more like a man of fifty, rather than a newly turned boy of fifteen. His birthday had been only last week, and for perhaps that 20th time in the last fortnight, he was thankful that it was not a week later. After taking nearly 10 minutes to get into his uniform and robes, Sirius and Peter began to awaken.

The rest of the boys did their best to help Remus during the full moon time of month, but they also reaped rewards from his disability. When they were younger, all four of them would wake up together and help to get Remus ready. As time went on and Remus became more and more tired and on edge around the full moon, they came up with a better system. One boy would wake up early with him, and the other two would sleep in. They always went down to breakfast late around the full moon, because Remus couldn't stand the noise of the mail owls and the overwhelming scents of the food. Instead, they came in at the very end once everything had quieted down.

While the other boys quickly got dressed, Remus tied his shoes while trying to ignore his pounding headache. He got up from his bed, and stretched his lengthening body. In the last two months he must have grown a good three inches, and while he certainly didn't mind the extra height, it seemed that the growth was making the wolf particularly anxious.

When at last all four boys were ready, they grabbed their book bags, climbed down the steps to the common room, and exited from the Fat Lady. James walked in front, his messy hair standing up in all directions and his glasses slipping down his nose. Short Peter walked next to him, rubbing the sleep from his watery blue eyes. Sirius lagged behind them next to Remus, tying his tie as they walked down the stairs, not caring about his appearance due to them being the only ones left in the tower.

"Make way for your elders Pete," teased Remus as he shoved past Peter to make it through the portrait hole. As he clambered through, a very audible "pop" echoed out from his knee. Still, Remus walked on with an almost-normal pace. While he may be grouchy, irritable, tired, and stiff today, it wasn't until tomorrow that he would be too weak to function, and he was determined to use his last twenty-four hours to their full potential.

At first, the four boys were uncharacteristically quiet, for Peter and Sirius were still waking up. That is, until a third year came running past them, probably to fetch something from her dormitory before class. As she ran past, Sirius's eyes followed her, until he whipped his head back forward, a sly smile on his face.

"Merlin's pants, Sirius! A third year? Please tell me that you haven't exhausted the castle's entire resource of our age witches." Remus exclaimed in a hushed angry voice.

Sirius simply rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell Moony, just breathe. No one said that I _have_ but I have to weigh my options in case I _do._ But you'll never know. You lot know I don't kiss and tell."

Peter smirked, Remus sneered, and James burst out into laughter. "Right! You don't kiss and tell, you kiss and yell it to the whole world!"

Good thing that they were no longer on the staircase, or Sirius would have pushed James right over the handrail.

When they arrived at their destination there were only ten minutes left for breakfast, so they quickly plopped into their usual seats. James began to pile his plate high with eggs and sausage, and craned his neck, which gave a satisfying crack, as he scanned the Gryffindor table for Lily Evan's pillar of fiery red hair.

"She's over there," said Peter with an exasperated sigh, pointing over to the Slytherin table with his fork.

At this, Sirius whipped his head around, his eyes narrowing in revulsion. "What's she doing over _there_?" he said as he buttered his toast.

"Talking to Snivellus." Stated Remus matter -of-factly as he nibbled on a sausage. As the full moon got closer he usually would not be able to keep down much food, no matter how hungry he was. But since he still had 36 hours until the true horror began, he decided he needed to put some type of energy in his body.

"About what?" prodded James, whining like a little kid.

Remus strained his ears, allowing his heightened senses to pick up the words. In a whispered tone, he heard Lily say

"…just tell me what you guys have been doing Sev. Please! Mary was telling me about some suspicious things that's been happening to first years, just tell me that you didn't have anything to do with it!" Remus could hear the desperation in her voice, the silent plea. Since becoming prefects at the beginning of the year, he and Lily had become incredibly close. He hated that she hung out with those slime ball Slytherins, and a sneer grew on his face when he heard Severus's reply.

"Lils, it's not like that-"

"Sev, I don't know what's wrong with you lately! First that Hufflpuff girl that ended up in the hospital wing, but you _said_ that that was all Mulciber's fault. And now this!"

"Lils-,"

"I have to go to charms, see you later Sev." Said Lily abruptly, and with that she stormed out of the Great Hall, her head held high.

Remus looked at James, who was looking back at him eagerly. "They're in a small fight it seems." stated Remus. He couldn't help but smile at the joyous look on James's face.

The boys all took a moment longer to enjoy their breakfasts, until they stretched up from their seats and headed to class. As they stood, James cracked his knuckles, and Remus's thoughts turned bitter " _So bloody arrogant, a show off, going around_ cracking _every fucking part of him for the pure bliss."_ As unnecessary anger flowed through him, Remus forcefully swung his bag over his shoulder, causing a painful kink in his shoulder to pop, and he winced in the slightest annoyance.

Rather adamantly, Peter insisted that he carry Remus's bag, and they set off towards charms class.

They were working on silencing charms today, and Remus couldn't be happier with the timing. They had broken up into partners, and were then meant to try to yell their names once the charm had been cast. Remus was enjoying the blissfully quiet class, until Oliver Zeller accidentally said the color change spell instead, and when his partner yelled out in his now magnificently fuchsia colored robes, his yell echoed around in the otherwise silent classroom.

While everyone mostly ignored the outcry, Remus immediately covered his ears with his hands. " Fucking pillock," he whispered through gritted teeth. The drumming in his head, which had become subdued since breakfast, suddenly came back in full force.

"Calm down Remus," said Sirius, giving him a rather sympathetic smile.

In response, Remus fired at Sirius the very same silencing charm that they were working on. "Just shut up will you!" He exclaimed, grabbing his pounding head.

Peter, James, and Sirius exchanged a knowing look, and promptly switched up the groups that they were working in. James went with Remus, being the least likely to agitate him. The rest of class went smoothly, and when the four marauders headed off to transfiguration, everything was on track for a day prior to the full moon.

In class they had been assigned to be turning owls into eyeglasses, but when James had produced four pairs of eyeglasses in varying degrees of beauty, he decided to transfigure Sirius's hand into a lobster claw instead. Professor McGonagall saw this, and although she did not deduct any points, she did give a harsh reprimand.

"Mr. Potter, may I remind you _again_ that we will not be starting human transfiguration until _next_ year.

"But Professor, this is so much cooler than when I turned Peter's nose into a button!" James pointed out.

At this, Professor McGonagall suppressed a smile. With a wave of her wand she returned Sirius's hand to its normal state. "That, I will admit."

At the end of class the four boys were the last ones packing up, and McGonagall silently appeared behind them carrying a thick, brick red book in her arms. She handed it to James with a wink, and said "If anyone asks, you found this in the library. I'm not endorsing anything that you may or may not do with it." Switching to a more serious note, she then added for Remus "And Mr. Lupin, Madam Pomfrey would prefer if you came tomorrow when you begin to feel tired, _not_ when you are almost asleep." She then shooed them from her classroom.

As they exited the room James examined the book with awe, fingers tracing the gold lettering that read _Beginner to Intermediate Human Transfiguration by Shenoye Domeh._

James carefully placed it in his bag, and they advanced to lunch.

While the other three boys piled their plates high with food, Remus ate small bites of a roast beef sandwich. His drinking glass lay abandoned and empty, and a small layer of sweat had appeared on his forehead, peaking beneath his sandy hair.

Peter was the first to notice, and filled the werewolf's glass with water before intently pushing it in front of him. "You need to eat." The short boy said stubbornly as he piled food onto the sandy haired boy's plate.

"No, I really don't," replied Remus, casting a disgusted look at his usual favorite potatoes that had been forcefully laden onto his plate. "I'm fine." He said, pushing the dish away.

At this Sirius turned to face the table, facing away from the Ravenclaw girl with whom he had been making plans to meet up with later. He scoffed at Remus, who was maneuvering his uneaten potatoes around his plate with his fork. "No, you're not fine. Pete's right, you need to eat. It's not like you're gonna eat anything real tomorrow, or the day after!" At this Remus tried to protest, but Sirius persisted, "I don't care if you can't keep it down, at least try. As the oldest here, I insist that you eat your lunch," concluded Sirius, flashing one of his infamous mischievous smiles.

Remus rolled his eyes at this. "I'm not one of your hookups, Black." However, he succumbed, and ate a few forkfuls of potato.

When the quartet was done eating, they were going to head off to the library to spend their last twenty minutes before class. "Well, I'm going to head off to the toilet," said Remus sadistically. "I can feel those potatoes coming back up."

James nodded, for his face did look rather green. "Do you want us to come with-," he started, but Remus interjected.

"No, no. I have Arithmancy after and you lot have Care of Magical Creatures in the opposite direction. I'll meet up with you afterwards for Defense."

The other three boys argued, but in the end Remus won and hurried off in the other way to the bathroom. He walked in cautiously, and upon seeing that the room appeared empty, he moved with more urgency. He checked all of the stalls in case they might be occupied, and then ran into a stall. He felt nauseous and knew that his lunch would be coming up any moment. Quickly, he cast the silencing charm as a protective spell around his stall door, making him silent to anyone who might be outside. The room felt as if it was on fire, and he removed his robes, trying to cool down his feverish body. He loosened his tie, gasping for air. He threw his bag to the ground, and leaned over the toilet, begging for it to be over. He squeezed his eyes shut, and tried not to breathe in the putrid air of the toilet. He could feel his lunch being pushed out of his stomach, and crawling up his throat like a snake. When he could hold it no longer, he opened his mouth and let it all come out, the sandwich, the potatoes, even his breakfast seemed to be mixed in there.

He flushed it away, and began to put himself back together. When he was fully in uniform, he emerged from his stall to see himself in the mirror. He winced when he saw the sickly looking reflection looking back at him. His face was pale and clammy looking, and his eyes appeared to be bloodshot. His sandy colored hair, which was usually well brushed and groomed, appeared wild, more like James' then his self. Tentatively, he ran his hands through it and- yup, it was thicker than normal. He ran his hands up his arms, and could feel that the hair there was also thicker than usual. There was no use denying it, the wolf was fast approaching.

After swallowing a few more Advils and splashing some cold water on his face, Remus at last deemed himself appropriate to leave for class. He found that he only had five minutes, to get there, and set off in a hurry.

He was relieved when he arrived on time, for although all of his teachers were sympathetic towards his condition, Professor Vector did not tolerate tardiness. Remus was relieved when class started, for he really did like the subject. The numbers were constant and non -changing, and the material came easily to him. It was an easygoing class, for they did not have to practice wandwork or incantations, but only sit at their desks and solve equations. Remus allowed the work to engulf him, and when he exited the class an hour later he felt noticeably distressed. However, he knew that that would not last long.

He arrived to Defense rather early, and took a seat near the back of the room as he waited for the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins to appear. There were a few Slytherins who took Arithmancy as well, but they were seated towards the front of the class today. Then, a few more Gryffindors arrived from Muggle studies, and at last, the rest of the class came from Care of Magical Creatures. As the final wave of kids trudged in, Remus noted that Lily avoided eye contact with Severus, and while they normally sat near or next to each other, today they sat at separate ends of the classroom.

"Did they get in another fight during class?" Remus asked Sirius, keeping his voice at a low whisper.

"Something like that. They were bowing to the same hippogriff and then she was yelling at him, something about not appreciating the beauty of animals." He responded, making sure that James could not hear him. "I still don't get why she talks to him though, everyone knows he's a bloody bastard."

At this point, Professor Tressona came before the class and told them all to take out their wands. Remus had to admit, he thought Profesor Tressona to be a rather good teacher, and thought it a shame that something horrid would happen to her by the end of the year. When Peter had scolded him for being too morbid, Remus had simply replied with "It's true though! No Professor has lasted longer than a year at that post in over a decade!" Well aware of this, Professor Dumbledore had chosen not to tell her of Remus's condition, should she go insane (it's happened before) and reveal his secret. Although Dumbledore made sure that it was understood not to reprimand Remus for his missed work, Professor Tressona had no clue about Remus's sensitivities. Perhaps if she did, she wouldn't have chosen today to practice the _Reducto_ charm. Nothing like exploding objects to help with acute senses.

They were all supposed to be practicing exploding targets from fifteen feet away. While usually Remus was first to step up and show off in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, today he chose to hide behind the mayhem that was James and Sirius. They had decided that hitting their own target was boring, and opted instead to aim for everyone else's target. Still, there was not much that could be done to soften the noise. The sounds of explosions were everywhere, a deafening din that filled the room. A few of the Slytherin girls had stuffed their fingers in their ears, and Remus shamelessly chose to follow in their footsteps. Still, his face had turned even paler, and the sheet of sweat had returned. He could not have been more thankful when after fifteen minutes, Professor Tressona told them to stop.

"You all seem to be hitting the target, so we're going to try something a bit harder. Everyone get into four lines! The object is going to be to hit the coffee can from 35 feet away! The aim is for everyone on line to hit the can twice, first line to succeed doesn't have to write the essay due next week, which will be twenty inches on why reducto is useful during a battle against multiple opponents! "

The class scrambled to break into four lines, everyone trying to get the better students. The marauders got together with their friends, resulting in a line that was a force to be reckoned with. Remus was first, followed by James, Sirius, and Peter. Behind them was Frank Longbottom, a smart friend of theirs, followed by Marlene, Alice, Mary, and Lily. Lily had opted to go twice, as their line was the shortest by one person.

Professor Tressona placed a coffee can 35 feet in front of every line, and on the count of three, each line leader began to fire the spell. Remus's first attempt hit it dead on, leaving a rather impressive dent in the can. Almost simultaneously, a deafening wave of noise fell over the room. His face contorted in pain, and he clutched his hands over his ears. The pounding in his head was almost louder then the noise, and for a moment, Remus struggled to see straight.

Everyone else fired his or her second spell, and nearly everyone hit the target. As the rest of the class scrambled for their second person to go, Remus was still shaking his head, trying to regain clear vision. James and Sirius were muttering words of encouragement behind him, while Peter nervously bit his lip.

 _You're stronger than this_ Remus thought to himself. In a surge of clarity, he cast the spell, hitting the mark dead on. He ran to the back of the line, and James made up for any lost time by firing his two spells in rapid succession, each one colliding perfectly with their intended target. Sirius followed, his quick time putting them ahead of everyone else. Even Peter kept pace, although he required three spells in order to hit the mark twice. Professor Tressona watched from the sidelines, repairing the cans when they were blown to smithereens, and watching over all four teams.

By the time Lily stepped up for her double turn, they were just barely ahead of a Slytherin team on the opposite side of the room. The other team, noting this, began to jeer at them, yelling taunts at Lily, careful not to say anything that would anger Professor Tressona.

"Hey Liiiily!"

Her first spell blew the can to bits.

"Lily! Hey Evans, that was a pretty loud fight you were having during Care of Magical Creatures!"

Two lines over, Snape's spell missed the mark by an inch as he whipped his head around to see the tormenters.

Lily's next to spells just barely hit the mark. Meanwhile, the team they were tied with had their last person step up. Snape's awry spell had hit a table, and Professor Tressona hurried to put it back together. The Slytherins saw it as the perfect opportunity and spat out the last insult.

"Don't see why you're spending time with Severus. Everyone knows that you're screwing Potter. Pity he's so blind, maybe otherwise he would notice how ugly you are," one girl yelled, just as Lily's last spell hit the can with such force that people ducked as bits of debris showered down.

The entire class went silent in shock, staring at the Slytherin girls. Lily whipped around, her hair arching behind her as she turned to face her line. Her eyes were red, and she wore an expression of sadness and anger. That was all it took. Like one, five bursts of light headed towards the girls, leaving one silenced, one's legs had begun to dance uncontrollably, another one's tongue had grown two feet long and was an electric shade of green, and one girl had begun to sprout purple fur all over her body. The four marauders all looked at each other with a nod of respect as to what spell they had each chosen to use.

Professor Tressona appeared livid. "That's it! Girls, 40 points from Slytherin. Boys, 15 points from each of your houses."

It wasn't until then that Remus saw that they girl who had said the last insult, who along with having the long green tongue, her hair had also been turned into an obnoxious shade or orange. He looked around, and noticed that Severus was staring shamefully down at his feet, his greasy black hair falling over his face.

"Miss Evans' line, you are excused from the essay, everyone else, I want it on my desk by next Tuesday, no shorter than twenty inches! Class dismissed!"

The four mischief-makers exited the room, each carrying their own bag.

Turning to face his friends with grin on his face, Sirius exclaimed "Alas gentlemen, it appears we have a free now to end our day. Would you like to head to the common room, the library or…" he glanced around, lowered his voice, and cocked his eyebrow and gave the look that was typically followed by a scandalous activity, "… _somewhere_ else to work on _something_ else?"

James gave a smile that was like an open window to a breeze of laughter. "Remus, mate, you up to it?"

Remus gave an eye roll and a rather exasperated look. He stretched his arms behind him, wincing when the shoulder blades popped. It seemed like the activities in class had given him an energy rush. "Aren't I always?"

With that, the four boys set off. They started up the stairs towards the owlery, going all the way up to the fourth floor. Remus gripped the handrail the entire time. They walked past a suit of armor, up a spiral staircase, and stopped in the middle in front of a large landscape painting of a unicorn in a field. It was in fact however, a door, and when Sirius ran his long finger down the horn of the animal, it swung open as if he had pushed it.

They filed into the room, and Peter ran to open the blinds. They had tested it from outside, and found that even when the windows were open, the room was impossible to spot from outside the castle. It was as if it didn't exist. He stopped by the corner, where an enchanted bucket of ice held a mix of butterbeers, as well as some domestic muggle beers that Remus had brought after winter break. Sirius was particularly fond of them and never missed an opportunity to try a new kind. Peter grabbed two beers for James and Sirius, as well as two butterbeers for himself and Remus. He placed each bottle in front of its intended drinker, and pretended not to notice when Remus put his back in the bucket.

James opened his bag and rifled around for something, a look of puzzlement on his face. "It's not in-"

Sirius procured a large, seemingly blank piece of parchment from his own bag. "Of course it's not there, I nicked it this morning."

James gave him an affectionate, yet effective, elbow to the ribs. "Git."

The boys each plopped into a chair, and Sirius spread the parchment out in front of them. He touched his wand to the parchment and stated; "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Like silk thread, words began to appear on the parchment "The Marauder's Map" it read in large swirly letters. "I still think we should add more to that," said Peter.

"Hush, we'll get to it," chastised Remus.

The map continued to seemingly write itself, until a large network of passages were displayed in front of them, stopping abruptly near the upper left side. "So did you manage to find out-," Peter began, before Sirius interrupted him.

"Course I did, where do I think I was last night, I found out everything I needed from that Ravenclaw girl from lunch."

"My dear friend, one day you will be skinned by a mob of vengeful witches," stated James as he took a swig of beer.

"I look forward to it."

Turning back to the task at hand, Sirius looked to the map. "There's another hallway heading west from the Great Hall. It forks off right there," he pointed "and the one on the left leads to Ravenclaw tower. On the right seems to be another way to make it to the dungeons."

Remus drew all of this out with a quill, checking for Sirius's approval. Upon receiving it, he cast a linking charm, so that the spell on the rest of the map would extend to the new area.

"I think there might have been another hidden passage, but one of you needs to come with me, I think it might lock from the inside."

The four of them checked over the map, fixing minor errors when they came across them. Outside, the sky darkened, changing from bright blue to a cerulean color. Eventually, Remus placed his head against the table and began to doze. At this James checked his wristwatch, and exclaimed in whispered surprise "Merlin, dinner's in twenty minutes, and we need to get him back to the dormitory," jerking his head toward the dozing boy among them. He pointed his wand at the parchment and whispered "Mischief managed," and watched in awe as the ink on the map retreated, until it was nothing more than a blank piece of parchment once again.

"So, should we wake him up?" Peter asked.

"No, no." James gave a knowing smile, and reached into his bag once again. He pulled out his shimmery invisibility cloak, and handed it to Sirius.

"It's not fair! All my family's got is silver, you get an invisibility cloak!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Pete, help me… no grab the other arm," together, the two boys managed to hoist Remus onto James back, so that he was in a piggy-back position. Each boy was proficient in the art of carrying a sleeping werewolf, as Remus often fell asleep in odd places in days leading up to the full moon. When he was just tired, Peter would often support him. When he was only half conscience, Sirius would prop him up. But when he was completely asleep, James was the one entrusted to carry him, as he was the strongest of the three, and had been taller than Remus until recently, when he had sprouted up.

Sirius covered Remus with the cloak, and Peter grabbed both Remus's and James's bags.

Remus was vaguely aware of movement happening beneath him, but it barely registered. He did not know how much time had passed, but he stirred slightly when he felt himself be lay down in his soft bed. He didn't even realize that he was cold until blankets appeared over his shivering body.

"We'll be back soon" managed to make its way into his subconscience, although he didn't know who had said it.

As he drifted away to the dark abyss of sleep, he knew that it would be a long night.


	2. The Night Before

**Author's note: This is a pretty short chapter, but since the full moon is tomorrow night, I wanted to have it up by tonight.**

The Night Before

A pained groan awoke Peter from his slumber. His eyes shot open, as if he had received an electric shock. For a moment, he wondered what could have woken him up, until he heard the sound of thrashing sheets coming from his right.

Slowly, he raised himself up, trying not to let the bed creak. Blindly reaching out in the dark, he grasped the curtain and swung it open. Before him was a sight that he hated to see, although he had been expecting it.

Remus, strong, brave Remus, who although Peter sometimes found scary, inspired him more than anything, was fighting with the invisible puppeteer who appeared every month and jerked all his strings. Remus always slept with the curtains around his bed drawn tight. Every. Single. Night. But now, they lay open, after apparently having been kicked apart. Remus was completely tangled in his blankets, and his hair was soaked in sweat. One of his legs was hanging off the bed, and he was one his stomach, which Peter knew was less scarred than his back and sides. He was shivering, and as Peter watched, his muscles contracted, causing his entire body to twitch as his back arched, his shoulder blades were pulled back, and his head jerked back. Remus let out another moan as his body relaxed, but his face was still contorted in pain.

Running carefully in the dark, Peter ran to the trunk on the other side of the room, where the fifth bed would be should there have been another occupant in the dorm. The marauders had decided to keep most of their stuff there, and Peter was careful not to trip over anyone's books that lay strewn about. Reaching the trunk, he pulled it open, and reached his arms in to retrieve the winter blankets that they kept there year round. Glancing back at his thrashing friend, he decided that two was necessary, and carefully walked back to the bed, his arms now laden with heavy down blankets.

Now right next to Remus, Peter could see just how sick he looked. His face was white as marble, almost glowing in the light of the moon that streamed in from the window. His hair, which Peter had decided was the color of straw, was plastered to his forehead. His cheeks appeared slightly sunken. The veins on his neck stood out, and Peter knew that it would be sore in the morning from being so extended. Peter notied that the leg dangling over the edge of the bed was in fact his right leg. That was the leg where he had been bitten as a child, and Peter could see the bite mark, which appeared new, even though Peter knew that it was in fact over ten years old. It also looked infected, but Peter knew that that was impossible. It always looked like that around the full moon, and Peter knew that it was the bite's magical properties that prevented it from ever truly healing.

Carefully, the boy began to untangle his friend's limbs, but as soon as Peter's warm hand touched Remus's stone cold arm, Remus let out another, slightly louder moan. From across the room, Peter could see the silhouette of Sirius's long torso raise up from behind the curtains. With a speed of urgency, Sirius pulled open the curtains and placed his bare feet on the ground. Peter watched as Sirius lightly tread over with an air of grace, his feet not making a single sound against the carpet.

Peter signaled for him to be quiet, and pointed for him to go to the other side of the bed. He handed the other boy half of one of the blankets, and together, they spread it over the shivering boy beneath them. They repeated this process until Remus was covered in both blankets.

Sirius turned to the water glass on Remus's bed stand, and lifted his wand, which Peer had not noticed was in his hand, and whispered _"Aguamenti."_ The glass silently filled with water.

Peter nodded to him, and together, they walked over to Sirius's bed, which was on the opposite side of the room as Remus's.

"It's going to be a bad one," whispered Peter.

Sirius appeared alarmed. "How can you tell?"

"The bite. It looks nearly _infected_."

Sirius ran his hand down his elegant face, and let out a nervous laugh. "But that's not possible."

"I know _that_. But I think we should try again with the animagus forms."

Sirius sighed. "I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we need fresh mandrake leaves, not dried. I know that they have some growing in greenhouse 2. We'll grab some as soon as they're mature enough."

Another groan was heard from Remus's bed, causing both boys to glance over.

"Tomorrow's not going to be an easy one." Said Sirius matter-of-factly.

"Nope. We better head to bed."

"Yeah. Goodnight Peter."

Sirius went into his bed, his wand still in his hand. Peter turned back to his own bed and nestled into the covers, prepared for a long day in the morning.


	3. The Day Of (Part 1)

**A/N: I know it took me forever and a half to upload this. I'm sorry. This was the chapter that I was most excited to write, and I was struggling to put my thoughts into words. That's why I decided to break this chapter into two parts, so that there's two readable chapters instead of a mega chapter. (also I was having problems transitioning to the next part). I want to give a big thank you to laziest_evil and my breathing cosmos for their help in writing this chapter. I promise that the next chapter won't take as long. Hope you enjoy, I put a lot of effort into this one!**

The Day Of (Part 1)

Remus drifted in and out of sleep as he tried to wake up. His eyes would open for a brief second, and then flicker closed again, despite his strongest efforts. He looked vulnerable, like a child. His long legs were curled up against his chest, and his arms were wrapped tightly around his body. His trembling, paper white form stood out, contrasting the many deep scarlet duvet covers that had been laden on top of him.

Still keeping his eyes firmly shut, he forced his conscience to stay present. To him, the room felt dark and unpleasantly moist. He knew that he could stay there forever. He could stay wrapped beneath the blankets the whole day, and his friends would let him. It was this thought, that made him force his eyes open. He _would not_ lie in bed like a cripple, hiding.

He opened his eyes, and the dim light made his head immediately start pounding. Like a second heartbeat, he could feel the _thump_ - _thump_ that made it feel like he had a whale swimming around inside the very tiny fish tank of his head. He felt nauseous, and he blindly reached his hand out for the glass of water that he kept on his bedside, and made a mental note to thank whichever one of his friends had thought to fill it.

He forced himself up onto his tired elbows, and took a look around the room.

Sirius was perched in an armchair that they had stolen from a Hogsmeade junkyard a few years back, his rumpled cloak lying over one of the armrests. Peter and James were both adding the final touches to an essay that was due later in the day, while nibbling on some eggs and toast that they had brought up from the kitchens. A cluster of cherry stems tied into knots lay next to Sirius, who had begun to aimlessly blow bubbles out of his wand.

Remus swung his body around, his legs whimpering in protest as he placed his feet on the seemingly ice-cold floor. Clutching the bedpost, Remus pulled himself up to a standing position. As Remus stood up, the room around him began to sway, and large dark patches appeared in his vision. He gripped his bed for balance, and was sure to breath, waiting for it to be over. When at last, the room had become steady, he could see that all three of his friends had seemingly stopped midair in what they were doing, and were poised at the ready to catch him. He gave them an annoyed look, which he hoped didn't come across as sad or tired. It must have done the job, because all three boys backed off.

He grabbed his wand, and pointed towards the clothes laid out on top of his trunk " _Accio,"_ he whispered. He always felt like he needed to do magic on the day of the full moon. When he was younger, he would have awful outburst of uncontrollable magic, which often left his muggle mother frightened. He would never forget the sound of her tears when, at age 9, he had turned a dozen of her photo albums, her last connection to the muggle world, into a flock of blue jays that had promptly flown away.

The robes flew towards him, and he released his hand from the bed to catch them, an action that he immediately regretted. Not only had he let go of the one thing that was keeping him stable, but he had also lurched himself forward while grabbing the flying clothing, shifting him off of his already wobbly center. He began falling to his left, and banged his shoulder, which he had badly dislocated last month, against the heavy bedpost.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, clutching his now throbbing shoulder.

James exchanged a nervous look with Peter, before Sirius started his proposal, "Maybe you should just go straight up to the hospital wing today mate?

"I'm fine!" he yelled back. He didn't want to go up to the hospital wing, not yet. He wanted to get as much class time in as possible before the inevitable. His friends didn't need to baby him. He had been going through this for years; he knew his own limits at this point.

Sirius simply rolled his eyes, "you don't need to growl at me," he said bitterly.

"Ha ha," replied Remus dryly. "I'm simply rolling with laughter," he added, while pulling up his trousers.

He slipped into the rest of his uniform, his body jittery with anxiety. The coat of sweat had returned to his face, and he left his tie loose and barely knotted, something that was rather uncommon for the prefect.

At last, he popped another Advil into his mouth and reached for his book bag, which was noticeably lighter than it had been the night before. This development was not lost to the distracted werewolf. After peeking inside, he looked up and addressed his roommates in a tired, angry voice. "Where is my Herbology book?"

His friends exchanged knowing glances with each other. In fact, they had removed the book from his bag, as it was their last class of the day, and they knew that by then he would be up in the hospital wing, whether he liked it or not. Peter and Sirius had shared their findings from the previous night with James, who had made an executive decision that Remus would be going up by 1pm, seeing how that was the time when he typically began to show the signs that his friends had learned were signals that his mind and body giving in. Slurred speech, lack of balance, sometimes anxiety attacks, and always falling asleep during class were all signals that the marauders used to support the rumors that they just got hammered drunk every full moon, but were in fact indicators to the boys that Remus was done for the day. Typically, they convinced him to go up around one thirty, but on the occasions that he powered through to the end of the school day, he was practically being carried to the hospital wing. Besides, the book weighted at least three pounds, and they saw no reason for him to be carrying it around all day.

"Peter's carrying it for you," James quickly lied.

Remus was going to respond, claiming that he could carry his own damned books, thank you very much, until he noticed the time. "First period starts in fifteen minutes," he stated blankly.

"That is correct," responded Sirius.

"And it's down three levels and on the other side of the castle," Remus continued.

A smirk began to grow on Sirius's face. "That is also correct."

"And if I hadn't woken up in the next five minutes you pricks would have let me sleep and gone to class without me," Remus concluded, his voice seething with anger

"Ding ding ding! Three right answers in a row!" Sirius exclaimed, before grabbing his bag and running out of the dorm.

Remus had a few choice insults that he would have liked to yell back, but in the face of a transformation in less than twelve hours, all that he could bring himself to say was "You don't have to be so bloody loud, Black."

The four boys began to make their way towards the Transfiguration classroom,

and slid into their seats just as Professor McGonagall walked up to the front. "All of you will be sitting your O.W.L's in a very short period of time. Those of you who decide to continue with Transfiguration, will have to learn how to do human transfiguration." At this, she quickly shot a pleased expression that some could identify as a smile towards James' direction. "In order to successfully perform human transfiguration, your animal work needs to be proficient. You have all mastered the art of turning something living into something inanimate, and back again. Today we will be doing the opposite. It is much harder to make something alive that never was, than to turn it into something nonliving. For today, you will each be taking a wooden block from the back of the room," she pointed to a crate behind all of them, " and will try to turn it into a mouse. The aim is that by the end of the class, your mouse should still be alive, as this will tell us how well you created the essential organs. Before you begin, remember that that all of you need to schedule an appointment to meet with your head of house within the next two weeks, for career consultation. Gryffindors, you may approach me during class if you wish. Begin!"

The room was filled with the sound of chairs scraping against the floor as everyone got up at once to go retrieve a hunk of wood. Peter got up to go get four, and James turned around to face Lily, who was sitting in the row behind them. She was waiting until the crowd of people dissipated, but would have much rather faced them than James Potter. James muttered "Accio" under his breath, and a block came flying over towards him, which he tried to give to Lily. She gave one glance at his open hand, and got up to go get her own, but not before giving him a look of pure disgust.

"Now, don't be so upset," poked James.

" I don't need _your_ help," rebutted Lily, turning her back and walking away

"Not even yesterday during Defense?" James prodded, saying it just loudly enough for her to hear.

Lily turned around slowly, her green eyes flashing with detest. "Listen here Potter, you foul prick. The _only_ reason that that I was in that situation is because you won't shut your large mouth, and keep giving people false ideas about me. I won't _ever_ go out with you, because you are a pretentious, spoiled prat. Here's a news flash; you don't always get what you want. So _stop_ asking me out, and giving people the opportunity to come up with these wild assumptions, because the answer will _always_ be _no."_ Peter let out a long, slow whistle of appreciation as Lily flipped her curtain of hair over her shoulder, dropped the wooden cube on James' desk, which landed loudly, and proceeded to the back of the room to get her own.

Sirius clapped his hand on James' shoulder, barely able to contain his laughter. "Mate, do _you_ need to head up to the hospital wing? Because you just got _buuuurned_." James simply shoved Sirius off of him, and ruffled his hair up some more.

Peter handed each of them their piece of wood, and they quickly got to work. James's mouse was done in a matter of seconds, and he watched the small white animal run around on his desk, making sure that it didn't run away. Sirius took another moment, and even Peter took no longer than three tries. They were some of the first ones done in the class. "If only McGonagall knew what type of transfiguration we were _really_ practicing," said James, and Sirius smirked in response. Peeking over at the table next to them, James looked past Peter and began to say "Remus, mate, how're yo-. Oh ok." Remus had fallen asleep, his wand still clutched in his hand, and his mottled orange and white mouse was running up his arm.

Peter gave a questioning look to James, who nodded encouragingly, his eyes wide with concern, looking around the classroom, and hoping no one had noticed the sleeping prefect. Peter shook Remus awake, choosing to add a pinch to his neck to force his eyes open. Immediately, Remus bolted awake, which caused his mouse to start squeaking in fright. No one seemed to have noticed, except McGonagall, who was definitely keeping on eye on their table on this particular day. She suddenly appeared before them, her forest green robes billowing behind her. In a hushed voice meant only for Remus' ears she said in a rather concerned tone "Mr. Lupin, may I remind you of what I said yesterday. Should I urge you to go up now?"

Remus' face became rather flushed. In a rather shameful voice, he replied, "No Professor. I- I think can make it through another class." He cast his eyes downward, glaring at his knees.

"If you insist Mr. Lupin." In a louder voice, she added, "Don't let your mouse get away from you."

Before she walked away from their table, James stopped her. "Professor, could I meet with you next week, perhaps on Tuesday after final class?" Stealthily, a folded piece of parchment appeared right in front of Professor McGonagall, with her name written on it in scrawled handwriting.

Giving a rather inquisitive look, Professor McGonagall plucked it from the table. Quietly unfolding it, she saw that it read: _"We'll make sure that he's there by noon. -James P."_ Keeping a perfect poker face, McGonagall replied, "That would be lovely," and walked away to a group in the back who's mice had all begun to walk backwards, and could seemingly not go forwards.

At the end of the class, James had a small fleet of rodents around him, including a squirrel that he had decided to make because he was bored. Sirius had charmed his mouse a royal blue color, and was racing it against one of James'. Peter had made bubbles that seemed to be entertaining his mouse, and Remus's was nibbling at the corner of the page of a book that its owner was pretending to read.

When it was time for them to leave, Sirius slipped his mouse into his pocket, and they left for History of Magic.

Professor Binns had already been a ghost for about twenty -five years, and his class was one where most people planned to sleep. Even the Ravenclaws came with pillows, saying that it was a better sleeping area then a hard desk.

Remus was in fact rather a history nerd, and was usually the only one at all alert, copying down page after page of beautifully written notes. Sometimes Remus even duplicated them, and made himself some nice spending money by selling his notes to his peers. The marauders always needed spending money, as they went into town about three times as much as the normal student, simply whenever they fancied some more candy or whatnot.

Sliding into a seat near the back, Remus rolled open some parchment, and set himself up for notes, yawning as he did so. As Professor Binns began to drone on about when flying carpets had been banned in 1827 in Europe, but how they were still commonly used in Africa, Remus's first few pristine lines of notes dribbled out into nothing, the end simply being a large puddle of ink. Remus was in fact a lefty, and sat with his head perched in his right hand, his left hand just barely poised to jot down interesting facts. He began to aimlessly stare into nothing, his brain just struggling to stay awake.

His eyes had drifted onto Alexander Froid's neck, and he watched the steady pulse of his neck veins pumping, distributing blood through his entire body. The voice inside his head, which before had been thinking of carpet regulations, began to change. " _Soooft, tender. One bite. That's it. Red, fleshy, strong. Just a bit!"_ Drool had begun to drip down Remus's chin as his head fell forward and promptly brought him back to his senses.

His head shot up as if he had been shocked. Had those thoughts really been his, those monstrous, vicious thoughts of attack? His eyes appeared bloodshot, and his face paler than usual, now from fear as well as illness. Quickly, he shoved his stuff in his bag, and raised his trembling hand into the air. " May I go to the bathroom please Prefessor?" His voice shook, trembling with fright.

"Um? Oh, yes yes Mr. Lipoir." Remus practically ran from the room, and his friends gave him quizzical looks as he raced out the door. He ran far from the classroom, going faster than he should the day of the full moon, pushing his sore joints and tired muscles. He ran until his lungs hurt and his legs ached. He ran until he reached an old charms classroom in the oldest part of the castle, where he knew there should be no students.

Panting heavily, he leaned against the cool, worn, stonewall, and ran his hands through his hair, which was damp from sweat. Had those words he heard in his head really been his own? He was terrified of the thought. What if he ever lost control of that voice inside of him, of that ever-present monster that was hiding within him?

He retched at the thought, but his insides were empty, so nothing came up. Wrapping his arms around his flat stomach, he felt his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten all day, and his body wanted fuel. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep anything down, so he unwrapped a large bar of emergency dark chocolate from his pocket, and was about to break off two squares before he thought better, and carefully returned the whole bar to his pocket. Putting caffeine in his body a mere few hours before the full moon? Not a good idea.

He couldn't last any longer. He knew it. Usually he tried to deny it, to put up a fight, just to hold out longer. But today he knew that the battle was lost, so, eyes cast downward in defeat, Remus Lupin trudged his way up the three flights of stairs to the hospital wing.


	4. The Day Of (Part 2)

**Author's note: So here's part 2! It's definitely not my most well written chapter, but i had so much to say, so it's a bit all over the place. Here's the real important message though: I leave for summer camp in three days. It is very unlikely that I will have the next chapter up by then. I will be away for four weeks, so please be patient, because I cannot have any electronics with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter though!**

The Day Of (Part 2)

The large doors to the Hospital Wing were open, waiting to grab Remus and suck him into their kingdom. It's not like he had much choice. As soon as he crossed the threshold Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her side office, a familiar smile on her face.

"How are you Remus?" she asked, as if his rather horrid health was casual conversation. She had somewhat given up with formalities with him some time last year, when their relationship became friendlier than matron to patient. That type of thing happens when two people spend upwards of two days together every month.

"Exhausted," he confided, dropping his shoulders and exhaling loudly.

"I'm glad you listened to your Professor then, before you fell asleep. The ward's empty, all yours. I take it you can find your bed?" she said with a slight chuckle. After more than five years Poppy felt rather comfortable with teasing her most reoccurring patient.

Without further ado, Remus lumbered to his favorite bed in the back of the room, right underneath a large window. He dropped his heavy bag next to the bed, and threw himself into the welcoming mattress face first. Even as he shoved himself underneath the warm, inviting blanket, he could feel himself drifting asleep.

Barely an hour later, Poppy Pomfrey emerged from her office again, this time to greet a colleague rather than a student. "Minerva! I swear, you avoid social gatherings in my office like the plague, but as soon as that boy is here you come running!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, greeting one of her oldest friends with a hug.

Minerva McGonagall chuckled, a softness overcoming her sharp face, "Even you admit that my office is a bit more welcoming than a hospital," Suddenly, her cheerful demeanor shifted back into that of a stern professional. "But since you did mention him, I have to ask, is he here yet?" an air of concern inching its way into her voice.

"I don't know how you managed to convince him, but he arrived earlier then ever, it wasn't even a quarter past eleven when he stumbled in. Been sleeping ever since."

Minerva sighed. "I suspect his friends had something to do with that. Mr. Potter did promise that he would get him here by noon, and I guess he kept his word." She shook her head in bemusement of the thought of the notorious troublemaker James Potter following her instructions, which he usually made an extra effort to ignore.

"That's the odd part. He came up alone. They haven't even been here today yet." The two women began to walk towards the only occupied bed in the room, the volume of their conversation slowly decreasing as they approached the sleeping figure.

"He's drenched," observed Minerva.

"Always is. A wolf's body temperature is higher than a humans', so it's his body trying to cool down," responded the nurse.

"But you said he's only been here an hour," stated the witch in forest green robes.

"Every month is different. I've tried to give him potions before the transformations, but he can never hold them down," rebutted the matron.

Minerva glanced at the large clock in the ward. "I have a class to teach in fifteen minutes, but tonight, same place as usual?"

"Of course," said Poppy with a smile.

The professor walked out of the room, her magnificent robes billowing behind her.

Unbeknown to Madam Pomfrey, as her guest had left, more students had entered, using the Professors exit as a way to trick the spell that alerted the Matron whenever someone entered or exited the ward. Good thing too that she was looking at Remus when she walked back to her office, for this way she could not see the three pairs of feet that had seemingly walked into the hospital without any owners.

When her door was carefully closed, behind the curtain enclosing Remus's bed, James Potter pulled off the invisibility cloak, revealing himself, Sirius, Peter, and the mouse that Sirius had kept with him from Transfiguration.

"See? I told you he would be up here," James whispered matter-of-factly to Peter. "We knew something was up when you didn't show for the rest of class," he added towards Remus's direction.

"Well, had to check. He could have been kidnapped by that weird Hufflepuff that keeps eying him," Peter said. Nodding towards the sleeping boy, he added, "and he's in no condition to fight back."

Sirius snorted. "No shit."

For some reason, this small amount of noise seemed to be able to breach Remus through his heavy curtain of sleep. A sound of someone who has been deeply annoyed came from his throat. Utterly exhausted and fighting with a wolf inside his brain, Remus managed to communicate to the boys. "Ughhh."

"It seems like he's still alive," teased Sirius.

Feebly waving his hand in form of beckon, Remus managed to say, "C'mere. Gh'mere."

The standing boys leaned in, eager to catch whatever whispered words their friend would say. Blindly throwing his open hand at his friends, Remus just managed to slap James and Peter, while Sirius jumped back in time. "Fuck off you,-you maggots," he just managed to breath in their faces.

"Maggots? That's all you can come up with? You must be really far gone. I think I liked it better last month when you called Sirius an 'ass licking leech'," snorted out James.

Meanwhile, the mouse that had been on Sirius's shoe had jumped off and ran out of the room, therefore triggering Madam Pomfrey's spell, alerting her of a presence in her ward. Before the boys could realize and slip the cloak back on, the Nurse came bustling in to kick them out.

Livid, she whispered in a harsh voice, "you three better stay out. You know that he should be resting."

Sirius tried his best to sweet talk the Matron, who would have none of it. "it's just that he vanished in the middle of History of Magic. We wanted to make sure that he got up 'ere all right."

"He better still be asleep when I go check on him, or else!" she threatened, shoving the unwelcome guests out her doors.

Walking down the corridor, James snickered. "She said that as if it's possible to wake him. I'm sure we could get an elephant to tap dance right in front of him and he wouldn't open his eyes."

Hours later, Madam Pomfrey emerged from her office once again, this time wearing a dark cloak, and carrying an extra in her arms. Gently she tried to shake Remus awake.  
"Mr. Lupin? Remus? Come on now, you need to get up now."

Slowly, his eyes opened, and he responded in a hoarse voice, " W-what? What time is it?"

"It's six o'clock. You have a little over an hour. We better get a move on."

Remus pushed himself up to a sitting position, and squinted his eyes in the dim light. His head was pounding, and he felt incredibly nauseous. He was dizzy and gripped the edge of the mattress to keep him up. Madam Pomfrey handed him his shoes, and he pulled them on and tied them without a word. He then tried to stand, and pushed himself up from the bed. Immediately, he felt dizzy, as if he was falling, and was scared that he would collapse. Luckily, Madam Pomfrey was there, and she quickly grabbed him, keeping him upright. His thin, trembling form leaned against her, and she quickly placed the extra traveling cloak around his shoulders, hoping to provide some warmth to the boy.

Instead of them walking out of the Hospital Wing doors and going downstairs, they did something that would stun James and Sirius, had Remus ever chosen to tell them about it. They walked to one of the supply closets in the back of the ward, and Madam Pomfrey tapped on of the shelves with her wand three times. The shelves sunk into the wall, and an entranceway to a staircase revealed itself.

Originally the staircase had been used to transport medicine, but in modern times they simply had the house elves carry it up. It was still used if an injured student was ever needed to be transferred from the Quidditch pitch to the Hospital Wing in a hurry, but mostly, Remus used it. Starting in his third year, when his all day naps became routine, Madame Pomfrey had decided that this route saved time, as well as his much-needed energy. Also, it was the most discreet way to transfer him in and out of the building.

Carefully walking down the spiral staircase, Remus could feel his heart thumping loudly, and was almost sure that it was audible. Sickly waves of energy began to course through him. He knew that they would reach the bottom of the stairs in another minute of so, but he wanted to be out of the stone confines, to be in the open grounds _now_. He exhaled loudly, trying to relieve himself of some of the stress.

"Don't worry Mr. Lupin, You still have forty five minutes," Madam Pomfrey said, as they finally reached the door at the bottom.

While she said it as if it was plenty of time, Remus heard something else. He heard only forty five minutes until the horror, less than an hour until the pain. The anxiety began to set in, getting greater with every passing second.

She opened the door, and they emerged right next to the Quidditch pitch. The sky was a navy shade of blue, no longer the bright color of the day, but just nearing nightfall.

The duo treaded across the grounds, coming to stop at the ferocious willow tree. Remus took off the large cloak, and handed it to the nurse. By doing so, he revealed his thin frame, and Madam Pomfrey felt great concern for the young boy. She knew that the hardest part of lycanthropy wasn't necessarily the actual being of the werewolf, but rather to transformation to and fro. There was no such thing as an easy transformation, because of its involuntary nature. Man simply was not meant to transform like that. Not to mention that Remus was one of the youngest werewolves to ever be turned and live. At age sixteen, He had already been transforming for over a decade, and his poor health reflected it. But Poppy knew that she had to hide her fear, for Remus's was much worse.

So, like every month, she gave him a delicate hug, and said the same thing, "I'll see you in the morning Mr. Lupin," before picking up a long stick from the ground, and prodding the special knot at the base of the tree. Instantly, it froze. "Off you go now," she said with a sad smile.

Remus took a deep breath, before saying, his voice lush with sincerity, "Thank you Madam Pomfrey." And with that, he stumbled down the hole, and headed off to the Shrieking Shack, to endure yet another night of terror.


	5. The Night Of

**A/N: Hello wonderful people! Sorry that it took me so long to upload this, I decided to do it tonight to try to avoid doing schoolwork. I had some problems writing this chapter, -please review to tell me what you think. The reson why this chapter doesnt go on forever and ever, is becoming I am stopping it in the wee hours of the morning in the story's timeline. This way anything written about the transformation back will be in a following chapter, "The Day After". And again, please please, leave comments!**

 **Enjoy!**

The Night Of

The musty, damp corridor was cold, like always. Each footstep sounded like a scream in the echoing passageway, each breath felt like a battle with the damp air. The ground was rough and lumpy, but the trembling boy did not trip once because he knew where each obstacle lay. Every rock on the floor, the different patches of colored fungi he passed, each served as a marker. The large rock on his right hand side: a quarter mile left. The patch of ivory white mushrooms that grew on the wall: three hundred yards. He walked and walked, willing his legs to keep working. He always forgot just how far it was -forgot that he was practically walking all the way to Hogsmeade. The smell of iron, its source blood dried from full moons pasts: he had arrived.

He pushed open the door that separated the shack from the passageway, and it felt like he was entering a cage. He knew that as soon as the moon rose, the charm on the door would take place, and would stay locked no matter what, unless touched by a human hand, until the moon faded away. He crouched his head as he stepped through the small doorway, and noted that for the first time ever, he would have undoubtedly hit it had he remained upright. Upon closing the door to his prison, he could see Moony's fruits of labor from before, glorious claw marks that adorned the backside of the door.

He was running out of time, he could feel it. His ears felt like they needed to pop, and his headache had become unbearable. The entire room seemed to be swaying around him, and he gasped for air through his dry throat. Despite it being a warm spring night, and the layer of sweat that had nearly soaked through his shirt, every single one of his bones were shaking.

He doubted that he had more than fifteen minutes, and quickly pushed his weary body to the old parlor. It was by far the largest room in The Shack, and had probably once held grand social gatherings a long time ago. _A long, long, looong time ago_ , Remus thought as he shuffled across the carpet of dust on the floor. He sat himself down, or rather; fell down, into one of the few remaining armchairs in the room. It was small and hard, intended for an era of perfect posture and proper conversations. Over the years The Wolf- _me,_ he thought- had destroyed most of the chairs, and this one had probably only lasted so long because of the strong wood it was made of. If he had wanted comfort, then he would have gone to the master bedroom, where the bed was still mostly intact, as well as warm and soft. It was his favorite room in the cursed house, simply because between the bed and the still functioning grand piano, it was where he went to clear his mind. Whenever he had extra time in the shack as a conscience human, that was surely where he would be. Perhaps his subconscious knew this, because he often awoke there, even though he always started the night in the parlor. This was because he was terrified of destroying the few pieces of magnificent furniture that remained in the house. Still, the chair was something, and the tired boy surely would have fallen asleep had his body let him, as he struggled to keep his brown eyes open.

However, that opportunity promptly ended, as Remus exclaimed an involuntary gasp, and the transformation began.

His back suddenly arched backward as the wind was knocked out of him, and he gritted his teeth in pain. He toppled out of the chair, landing on the floor on all fours, gasping for air. His torso curved upward, and he yelled in anguish as his hips pulled up and in, making crackling noises as the muscles and ligaments that held them in place were torn without any disregard. His shoulders popped out of their sockets and he screamed, feeling the ghost of last month's injury along with the current torture. His ribs broke and reformed, becoming narrower as the half transformed boy collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain. Fur began to appear on his body, and he cried in agony as his knees inverted themselves, wincing as each one popped backwards. Tears streamed down his face as he prayed for his body to stop betraying him and for the pain to stop. A tail sprouted into existence, and he called out for help, even though there was no one who could possibly hear him begging. His face started to stretch and lengthen, his mouth turning into a ferocious muzzle as the pained screams and cries of a boy turned into the whimpering of an animal. Claws emerged from his hands as they rounded and became paws, and the wolf howled in misery as all the bones were healed, guaranteeing not to move while the moon sat on its throne high in the sky.

The animal collapsed, silently lying there for nearly a minute as the human mind was forced out and the wolf one settled in. Then, its eyes suddenly opened, the bright yellow orbs shifting in and out of focus as the wolfish mind took hold. The Wolf lay there panting, its breath ragged. Then, it leaned its head back, and howled magnificently, letting everyone know that Moony was in charge tonight.

It stood up from the ground gingerly, surprised to find that its body was bigger than it remembered. The limbs were longer, and The Wolf could not adjust to these new legs that it was supposed to walk on. The Wolf just knew that it wanted to get out of this house, into the open woods that lay only beyond a thin wall. Using its new long back legs, it stood on two legs, and pawed at the window, trying to escape. Moony started pawing at the wood, wanting nothing more than to escape the confines of this cage and run through the open forest, to feel the air of outside against his fur. It wanted to be _free._ It clawed fast and vigorously, howling in distress at his fruitless effort. It could smell the scents of food drafting up from the village, and It longed for the feeling of meat between its canine teeth. Frustrated, Moony began to ram his entire body against the walls, but The Shack held strong. Using more and more force, It banged against the wall, not seeming to feel any pain.

Overcome with distress, Moony leaned his head back, and howled. Sounds of sadness and anger came out of It, and The Wolf continued to howl as the moon moved even higher in the sky. Eventually, It had to stop. The animal was thirsty, and Moony padded through the house to the kitchen, where there was in fact a large bowl of water. The Wolf drank and drank, rejuvenated by the cold liquid. It returned to the parlor, where the animal continued to throw himself against the wall, eager to escape, howling in anger against Its lack of success.

The Wolf sat down in defeat, and pawed at its nose, angry at it for tempting the animal with thoughts of food from the outside. The razor sharp claws drew blood, and the drops dribbled into The Wolf's waiting mouth. The blood was addictive, like a drug, and the animal wanted more, wanted to taste the thick, iron laced liquid in its mouth. More than anything, it wanted prey, and if it had to be mock, than that would do. Tentative at first, Moony began to bite at his hind leg, until he began to use his teeth more ferociously, eager for any feeling of flesh. The wolf did not care that it was itself, did not care that the warm blood in its mouth was its own, only knew that it needed more. It nipped at its own angles, excited by the feeling of the strong muscles beneath its teeth. Moony was excited by his new, bigger legs, and took the opportunity to bite and scratch every inch of its body. The animal's euphoria numbed its pain, and it attacked its rib cage, barely stopping to wince when a bone would break, until there was a puddle of blood on the floor, and the animal drank it greedily.

Now overcome with pleasure, the monster howled in happiness as its own blood dripped down its muzzle, thanking the moon for the blood that soaked its tongue.


	6. Meanwhile In Gryffindor Tower

**A/N Sorry I've been gone for so long! I'm uploading these next to chapters together as an apology. Maybe not my best work, but I needed to get these ideas into the story. I hope you like it. Also, thank you to everone who left comments, I really appreciate your feedback.**

 **Enjoy!**

Meanwhile In Gryffindor Tower

The moon rose high in the sky as James clambered through the portrait hole, carefully not using his right hand. A victorious smile on his face, he ran up the steps to the boys' dormitory, where he slammed the door behind him, startling Peter. Sirius emerged from the bathroom with his wet black hair gleaming and a scarlet red towel wrapped around his waist. "Oi Potter, glad to see you finally showed up."

"Where'd you vanish to, James?" piped up Peter.

"Hogsmeade," he said with a cocky smile. "You better be glad I showed up, Black." With a flourish, he removed the invisibility cloak off of his seemingly empty right hand, and a numerous amount of chocolate truffles appeared, all tumbling out of the folded up fabric. "The supply was running low."

Sirius chucked the towel at James's head as he pulled on a pair of grey satin pajamas. Laughing, James playfully caught the towel before Peter folded it with a flick of his wand. "He's gonna need it James, tonight's not going to be a good one," Sirius said gravely.

"Are any of them good ones?"

James grinned, "Good point Peter."

"Actually James, Sirius and I had something we wanted to talk to you about."

Sirius perked up. "Thanks for the reminder Pete! Yeah Potter, you toerag, stop playing with your hair and listen."

James stopped mid-hair ruffle, a slightly sheepish look on his face.

"We were thinking that maybe we try the whole animagus idea again. Maybe the mandrake leaves were the wrong type."

James looked up. "That would make sense maybe the enzyme we need or whatever is only in the fresh version."

"Exactly!" squeaked Peter.

"We could nick some from greenhouse two in about May… and be done with the whole mandrake part by summer vacation!"

"What about exams though? We can't mess up because we have leaves in our mouths."

James changed from his robe into a pair of scarlet boxers and his dad's old Gryffindor sweater.

"Nonverbal magic," said Sirius as if it should be obvious.

"We barely started that in Defense though, and it's not even expected until next year!" responded Peter.

"So what?" replied James, removing his glasses and putting them on his bedside table. "We'll get a leg up on it."

"Imagine that. Imagine if the three of us actually become animagi by the beginning of next year. Fifteen-year-old animagi! We would be record holders!" Sirius lay in bed with a pleased smile on his face.

"We'd be illegal more like it."

"Even better!"

"G'night lads!" yelled Peter, snuffing out the lights with a flick of his wand. The three boys lay in their own beds in silence, staring at the glow of the full moon that taunted them in the sky.


	7. Meanwhile In Hogsmeade

Meanwhile In Hogsmeade:

Poppy Pomfrey sat at the bar of the Three Broomsticks, sipping a glass of gooseberry wine while she patiently checked her watch. At exactly a quarter to eight, a tall witch in a dark purple cloak stepped through the doors, and took the seat beside Poppy. Not bothering to look up, Poppy smiled. "You're late Minerva. You were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."

Sighing in defeat, Minerva shook her head. "Sorry Poppy. I had a horde of fifth years that needed to make up some classwork. One girl broke down when the daisy she was turning into a turtle turned into a tortoise instead," the professor said exasperatedly.

"I still remember my O. ," said the matron, her eyes drifting off to some faraway place. "I thought they were the hardest tests I had ever taken. If only I knew what my N.E. had in store." She chuckled, reminiscing on her days as a student. " The night before my Transfiguration N.E.W.T was the first time I ever brewed a stress relief potion. Still, I sat through the entire written exam thinking I was going to vomit." Coming back to reality, she looked at her colleague, "And now the things that those kids come up with! Last year I had a dozen seventh year Hufflepuffs who all fell ill after trying to smoke root of asphodel to calm them down. A stupid thing to do, too much asphodel can kill you!"

Minerva nodded her head in agreement and waved over the barmaid. "Rosmerta! How are you?

A young woman with long brown hair came over, her sparkly purple high heels clicking against the stone floor. "Good evening Professor, Madam Pomfrey, What can I get you?"

" I'll have the same thing as Poppy"

While Rosmerta shuffled away to get the drink, a rowdy group of young men entered the pub. While the door was open, along with their voices, a long, pained howl came into the pub. It lingered in the air, barely audible over the voices of the newcomers. Minerva looked at Poppy. "I worry about him," she said, as if continuing some old conversation.

"With good reason. The nights are getting longer, and I'm scared of what he's able to do to himself now."

Minerva grimaced. "He's a smart lad Poppy, and his future could be so bright, but I'm scared of that new legislation that I've been hearing about.

At that moment Rosmerta returned carrying the glass of wine and Minerva quickly changed demeanor to exchange pleasantries with her old student. "So Julie, what ever happened to that Ministry job you were vying for? Your Transfiguration marks were certainly high enough."

Madam Rosmerta's eyes turned sad, and she struggled to keep the smile plastered onto her face. "Professor, you've seen _The Prophet,_ now is not a good time to be trying to enter the Ministry, especially to focus on muggle- wizard interactions. I'm holding out here until the storm passes."

Minerva simply nodded as Rosmerta left to tend to another table, choosing not to mention that five years was already too long for a bright young witch like to be working at a pub. "Sometimes being smart isn't enough in this world Poppy."

The two women quietly sipped their drinks, straining their ears to hear the pained howls that permeated the pub's walls.


	8. The Days After

A/N I'm sorry that this took forever! After this there will be one more chapter to tie up loose strings and then it will be done! I want to say thank you so much to the people who have reviewed, your comments are what motivated me to finish this chapter. Enjoy!

Update: I updated this chapter after nearly a month because I had some more things I wanted to add and I needed a cleaner ending. Please tell me if you prefer this version!

The Days After

As the last of the full moon sank away in the cotton-candy-blue morning sky howls turned to screams of pain until the only noise left in the most haunted house in Britain were the ragged breaths coming from a heap on the floor. As the mind transitioned from animal to human the mass on the floor twitched ferociously until it suddenly stopped. Remus was conscious, but just barely. He could smell the metallic scent of blood all around him and could feel it drying to his skin. The scent was overwhelming as if it was trying to smother him. He was sure that at least one bone was _not_ where it was supposed to be, but he couldn't tell which. He tried to move, but he felt like his bines were made of iron chains that held him down and threatened to suffocate him. Okay, maybe more than one bone. The pain was a smothering sensation that pounded down on him from all directions. He couldn't focus enough to find the source, but everything from his toes to his head felt like it on fire. For a brief moment he thought, _this is what dying feels like_. He was sure that if he so much as shifted he would shatter into a million pieces of broken glass. _Madam Pomfrey will be here soon_ he thought, repeating it in his head like a mantra until he began to shiver, and the spindly bridge keeping him awake snapped.

He did not know how much later, but while he still lay on the cold floor of the shack he smelt the hospital wing scent that followed Madam Pomfrey and felt her warm hands on his ribcage. He tried to groan but even that much noise was unmanageable. "Dear lord! Remus keep breathing!" He could not even control that much. Could not control his body, his mind, even his survival. That was up to fate. All he knew was that he was an island in an ocean of blood, and he hoped that high tide would not drown him.

He drifted along on a lifeboat of darkness. Consciousness greeted him for a brief moment when he could feel thick blankets being laden on top of him and a potion being coerced down his throat, but with their warmth came the realization of all consuming fiery red pain everywhere and once again Remus was gone.

When he finally came to he felt like his entire mouth had been filled with cotton balls. His tongue felt like a foreign object and he was scared to open his mouth, for his jaw felt like it was made of styrofoam. The whole room seemed foggy and Remus noted that whatever potion he was drugged up on at the moment, it was certainly working well as all of his senses seemed to be working on delay. Looking up at the white ceiling he fought to keep his eyes open. There were long shadows on the curtains around his hospital bed, a sign of it being early evening. His left hip hurt terribly as if it was filled with pins and needles, and his legs felt like rocks. Wincing at the small movement, he turned his head to the nightstand where his potions were kept. Fourteen vials stared back at him. Crap. Thirteen was… less than ideal. No, fourteen was bad, really bad. If he was aware enough to panic he would have, but he was too grateful to have his eyes open at all. There were always the five potions and creams that he got every month: blood clotting to help stop the bleeding; muscle relaxer to stop the cramps that threatened to turn fractures into breaks; bone strengthening to help with healing; and a general pain potion. And of course, the anti scar cream that he was covered in every time, desperately trying to lessen the appearances of cursed scars. The other nine bottles were a mix of familiar and unknown remedies that he simply didn't have the energy to identify. Between the gold filled jars and pitch black vials the only thing that interested Remus was the cup of water at the edge of the table.

Overcome with thirst, Remus tried to sit up to grab the water that taunted him. As soon as he tried to move he felt hot pain from both sides of his rib cage. He gasped loudly and winced his eyes shut, wrapping his arms around his thin body, clutching at his sides. Madam Pomfrey came hustling out of her office a look of relief on her face. "Remus! You're awake! Lay back down. Don't move anymore," she commanded.

She was by his side in a second, gently guiding him back below the blankets. She smoothed his sandy colored hair, which was damp with sweat and tinged red with blood. "Water," he croaked. His throat felt like a scratchy record, and his vocal cords sounded like shit. The wolf had obviously been quite loud. Instead she held a pale pink liquid to his lips and he drank greedily. It refreshed his mouth more than water would, chasing away the cotton ball feeling. At the same time he could feel it spreading through his body, cooling every pain within him. Probably stopping internal bleeding he realized.

Even though he had just woken up, he was overcome with exhaustion. His entire body ached, and it pulled him to the abyss of sleep.

"You mustn't move Remus. Your hip was broken in several places so it's being regrown right now," she coaxed his head gently to the pillow.

"Madam, what time is it?" he whispered.

"Six o'clock on Friday." She said gently, as if the words might shatter him.

His almost closed eyes bolted open and he could feel his heart start to beat faster. Choking out from his scratchy throat he panicked, "But the full moon was Tuesday night! How-"

The matron cut him off. "You need sleep Remus."

With that invitation he drifted into the fog around him and back onto his lifeboat of unconsciousness.

What pulled him to out of darkness next was the sound of multiple quills scratching on paper and agitated whispers. His head thrummed with pain and he kept his eyes closed, electing to listen in on the conversation next to him.

"How the hell are you supposed to predict someone's past based on their spiritual aura!? What the fuck even _is_ a spiritual aura?" The whispers grew louder, until the speaker was almost yelling.

"It's how they carry themselves, their demeanor-"

"Just write the damn paper Sirius. And be quiet or she'll kick us out again." This voice sounded tense, and Remus could hear James snapping his fingers, one of his nervous ticks.

For a while the three visitors were quiet, until suddenly a quiet voice whispered, "She said he woke up yesterday, so he can't be too far gone… right?"

"Don't worry Pete, he'll be fine," and then, so quiet Remus wasn't even sure he heard it, "He has to be."

His friends were worried about him, and he wanted nothing more than to open his mouth right then and there and announce that his heart was still beating perfectly in order. But he was scared that even that would be a lie. With every breath he took the weak burn in his side became stronger and stronger. He tried to null it by focusing on the pounding of his head instead, but the beat muffled the sounds of his friends and diminished the pain like gasoline to fire. Despite wanting to stay, his body could not fight the conflagration of pain that overtook him.

The next time he was able to escape the abyss the pounding was gone. Remus opened his eyes, squinting against the early morning light. He felt like his legs were floating and was sure that he still had some strong potions working in his mind. There was no one beside his bed this time and the curtains were drawn tightly on all three sides. He could hear Madam Pomfrey bustling around on the other side of them, probably attending to some other patient. With less strain this time he looked to his bedside counter and saw that there were now only twelve vials. This was a good sign.

Cautiously, he lifted his arms from his sides and stared at his hands, examining the damage. His right wrist was stiff in a way that told him it had been broken or fractured, but had been mended. The pads of his long fingers sported new scratches, but otherwise he was able to bend his elbow with perfect functionality. Remus grinned, barely a lift of the lips that would look like a smirk to some. Hand injuries were a standard occurrence, and the fact that he had all ten fingers that he had started the full moon with gave him hope for the rest of his self-examination. That hope immediately vanished when he tried to move to a sitting position.

As soon as he tried to put his hands by his sides to hoist himself up, his shoulders screamed in protest, giving beneath him. While the left one only felt terribly sore, his right one was obviously healing from a nasty break. Favoring his left side, he managed to push himself up high enough on his pillows that if someone was to see him he could communicate from said spot. The small action caused for a thin layer of sweat to settle on his forehead as he used his strained muscles for the first time in days. Pleased with his progress he reached a shaky hand to his bedside table and reached for the glass of water, fumbling to bring it to his lips. He cursed under his breath when he set it down and almost knocked over a tall glass of silvery liquid.

He could hear Madam Pomfrey's shuffling footsteps pause outside in the middle of whatever she was doing. After a moment she peaked her head in, looking surprised before exclaiming, "Remus! You're awake! How are you feeling?" She bustled in and approached the side table, reaching for a small jar of gold-like mush and a spoon. She tenderly handed them to him, "It's applesauce. You've been unconscious for a long time, you must be hungry."

He offered a feeble grin in response. It was true. He had eaten very little before the transformation, and a spoonful of soft, sweet applesauce would probably taste lovely dry mouth.

While he shakily raised the spoon to his mouth, Madam Pomfrey wiped his face with a damp cloth, wiping away a trail of drool from the corner. Remus was shocked to find that he was already feeling full by the forth spoonful, despite how long it had been since his last meal.

"Um, Madam, _when_ is it right now?"

"It's just past seven on Sunday morning, dear." Remus paled. He knew he had been out for a while, but never before had he missed that much school.

"Madam, might I, er, be able to have my friends up?" he looked at her with the face that drove his friends mad. It was the same face that he had given Professor Flitwick when he asked him if he knew who could have possibly charmed Jamie Elys's hair into peacock feathers. It was the face that made him look innocent while James and Sirius sat detentions for _his_ pranks; the face that made teachers trust him.

Madam Pomfrey however was checking a bandage on his leg and didn't even see the face. "Yes, I suppose so. They'll be at breakfast in about an hour, I'll have Professor McGonagall send them up." Her tone of voice told Remus enough to know why she was allowing them. She was relieved. Relieved that he had woken up. No matter how badly he was ever banged up, she always knew how to get him back on his feet. The thought that he had worried her churned his stomach.

At exactly eight thirty five Remus looked up from the book he was reading to listen to the conversation that was happening at the doors to the Hospital Wing.

"He's up?" James asked.

"Don't overexcite him. If you boys get too loud I'll kick you out. Understood?" Madam Pomfrey replied sternly.

"Yes," three voices said in unison.

Remus smirked as shoes slapped against the floor, running to the back of the wing. His curtains were torn open by Sirius, a look of manic energy on his face as he grinned at the broken boy on the bed. "Well look who woke up."

"Good to see you guys too."

The boys collapsed into chairs, releasing loud sighs. They certainly looked like they hadn't slept in days, and judging by the way they folded into the uncomfortable hospital chairs, they were used to sitting in them.

For a moment all four boys wore identical stupid grins on their faces, a mix of relieve and happiness. James spoke first, "Don't fucking do that again."

Remus offered a shaky chuckle that turned into a cough, "Do what, almost kill myself? I'll try," he croaked.

The three boys grimaced. The joke wasn't especially funny and hit a little bit to close to home, but still they were happy to have their friend back.

"You really had us scared there. She wouldn't let us in at all the first two days," Then, James added in a quieter voice, "We thought you were a goner."

A silence fell over the boys as if Death himself had walked into the room.

Remus cleared his throat, desperate to chase away the morbid spirit that seemed to be following him. "So, what did I miss?"

"Nothing much," droned Sirius. " A few boring lessons, but we took notes for you, they're in Peter's bag."

"Oh!" Peter reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of scrolls of parchment. "Charms; Defense; History of magic, I had to stay awake for three classes to get that, Potions; and McGonagall says that you should come down and see her when you're ready so she can show you switching spells. You'll have to ask Lily for Arithmacy and Mary for Ancient Runes " He piled the rolls on Remus's bedside counter, which was already near overflowing with sweets and potions, and Remus felt his stomach drop. Missing two days of classes a month would make him nervous but between the day he had spent resting and the past few days he had been unconscious he had just missed _four_ days of classes, an all time high for him.

"You don't think that Madam Pomfrey would maybe let me out to go to classes tomorrow?" For the first time the other three boys gave sincere laughs. Remus deflated.

"Sorry mate, but I don't think she's going to let you out of her sight any time soon." Stated James.

"For good reason," piped Peter.

"Yeah, you've been completely drugged up for the last four days, you look worse than the Bloody Baron, and I can see your ribs," concluded Sirius, nudging his ribcage for emphasis.

Remus scowled in pain upon the contact. "Then you can see where I broke them,"

Sirius apologized, but Remus could feel the fog of the potions begin to set in. He had only been up for two hours, but he didn't want to go back to sleep and would rather test his limits, a dangerous game that he liked to play. He leaned his head back against his pillow, allowing him a little respite.

Peter came over to the side of the bed and peered at the collection of elixirs. "So what are all these for?"

Remus decided that figuring that out would be something to keep him awake, and he pushed himself back up and shook some of the fog from his head. "Um, well there are the standards; there's some apple sauce; sorry Sirius, the pink stuff isn't rose; there's some skele-grow - it's nasty- the little bottle is dittany; there's a bowl of murtlap essence I think; water of course; and she's got me on some pretty strong painkiller.

Sirius snorted, "Yeah we realized. You're moving like a sloth."

Remus would typically rebut, but he could feel his eyelids growing heavier and knew that Sirius was right. After a bit more teasing he bid his friends farewell, and then he allowed himself to fall asleep, back on board of the main ship with all his best mates


	9. A Week After

**Author's Note: This is the final chapter. I know it's short and it's taken me forever but here it is. I started this story over a year ago and I've changed so much in that year that I'm happy to finally be able to put this fic to rest. Thank you to everyone who commented. I have a poll in my profile for what my next major fic should be, please vote.**

 **Enjoy!**

A Week After

James sauntered into the hospital wing dripping wet. An early spring rainstorm raged outside, having interrupting a Gryffindor quidditch practice. A trail of mud followed him, leading to the occupied hospital bed in the back of the room.

In less than a week the austere corner had turned lively with candy covering the bedside table, which now only housed seven potions, and the floor was littered with piles of books and parchment scrolls. Peter was scribbling down some last minute details on an astronomy chart for tonight's lesson, and Sirius had his legs laid out on another chair while he lazily transfigured a button into a squirrel and back again. Remus was sitting up and reading through a pile of notes that the boys had taken for him, looking remarkably better than he had a few days earlier, with color in his cheeks and fewer bandages on his body. "Peter is that a four or a nine?" Peter just held up four fingers in response, as he bit his lip as he carefully drew in Jupiter's 67th moon. James pushed Sirius's legs off the chair to sit down in, and Sirius opted to drape his legs over the rung of Remus's footboard.

"Quit it with the squirrel before she kicks us out for," smirking, he mocked, "riling up _poor feeble_ Remus."

Remus rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide the ghost of a smile, "Shut it." And then, under his breath, "But I'm pretty sure animals aren't allowed in the hospital wing."

"But alas, here we are!" exclaimed Sirius while he returned the squirrel to a button.

"Oh! That reminds me!" James rummaged around in his bag for a second, pulling outs quills and rolls of parchment until he found what he was looking for at the bottom. He chucked three chocolate frogs onto Remus's lap, "I brought you a present."

Remus looked up, his chocolate brown eyes full of a mock hatred, "I loathe you," he stated.

Sirius smirked from his chair, "You were at practice last night, so I'll forgive you," he jerked his thumb towards Remus's direction, "but _he_ might not. Poor ickle Remus isn't allowed to eat chocolate 'till he gets out of here."

"She says she'll let me go on Friday, but until then she's keeping me on blood replenisher and any amount of caffeine mucks with it."

Peter reached for one of the frogs first, "Tragic." He stated

Sirius began to unwrap the second chocolate, "An absolute injustice,"

James plucked the last one off of the bed, "Well isn't that a shame?"

The three boys laughed as Remus gawked at them. James decided not to mention that he had another two waiting for the injured boy upstairs in their dorm.

Looking up from his homework, Peter piped up, "So how are we planning to explain this to people on Monday?"

James groaned from his chair. "Why do people need to be so nosy? Can't I just whack them on the head with my broom and call it a day?"

"James, you're a bore. How would teenagers function without gossip? And I think McGonagall might suspend you from the team if you turn your broom into a weapon," Sirius replied.

"As a currently out-of-commission prefect I agree that brooms should not be used to whack people," Sirius stuck his tongue out at James, "and I was thinking of saying that I got in a muggle train accident on my way home to visit mum. I'll say I was splinched getting to St. Mungo's and they had to keep me there for a little bit."

Peter shrugged, "Makes sense to me."

A clock chimed nine o'clock and Madam Pomfrey came bustling in. "Come on boys, it's closing time. You'll be able to see him tomorrow."

James, Sirius, and Peter stretched and picked up their bags, giving obnoxious waves and fake sobs.

"Goodbye!"

"Farewell!"

"Until we meet again!"

The boys exclaimed as they left. Remus simply rolled his eyes and laughed at his three best friends. He knew that they would do anything for him, no matter what he did to himself. Remus realized that it's important to have friends who are always the life of the party- especially when you're so close to death.


End file.
